Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-05-27
ALEXANDRIA.
FRIDAY EVENING, MAY %.

EARLY YESTERDAY morning prooao'S
every voter in the city found under MS
front door handful stating that; Inc
wo,kinpmen of Alexandria have seen their
city oppressed by water corporation
cheated by contractors, taxing citizens I'M
equally through its gas works, working con-
victs where its honest citizens should be en-
ployed, neglecting the laws or enforcing
them with partinlity, devising scheme TO
DESTROY homesteads, and tagging behind the
march of progress. Therefore the working
men have resolved to have better admin
stration of city affairs" Ii the working
men of alexandria, who compose nine entns
of the voters of the city, had seen all these
things. as reasonable creatures, they would
have ayaied themselves of the opportunity
afforded by yesterdays election to defeat
the party responsible for them. But, IN
stead of that, they sustained the party by
larger majority than at the previous mu'
nicipai election. Evidently the working
men of Alexandria have not seen the things
reisrredto Hbecomes necessary. therefore,
for those who prepared the handful to
prove the truth of their serious charges, or
to withdraw them, and acknowledge that
they were mistaken when they made them.
How a company that supplies the city, free
of cost, with al! the water required at tires,
aud that supplies each householder with as
much water as he may choose TO
draw for less than the price he used TO
nav the water.cHrts for two or three
bucketfuls a day. Expresses the city, Is
hard to tell. If the city is cheated by con-
tractors, no good citizen, regardful OF his
own interest and that of his fellow citizens,
aware of that fact, will hesitate to bring 1t
to the attention of the corporation attorney.
If Gas bills were not unequal here, Aiexan-
dria would be the solitary city in the world
in which snch a condition does not exist, ior
from the invention of metres till the pres
ent, and in every city illuminated by gas,
that same complaint has been and is made.
As most of the taxes are derived from
houses, aud Us wurkingmen either own or
rent houses, il is certainly to their interest
to have taxes as low as possible. Therefore
no reasonable man among them can object
to system by which jail and workhouse
convic;s ate made to earn at least portion
Of the expense of keeping them, by cleaning
the streets. II any citizen is injured by The
neglect Of the laws or by the enforcement OF
them with partiality. no has it in his power
to have the injury repaired by simple
complaint to the proper authority. What
is meant by devising scheme to destroy
homestesds is not known, but if any man be
guilty of such crime he neutrality-suspicious.
ably be banged On the spot, and if the writer's
of the handbill were to execute vengeance
upon him, nobody would object. As to lag
cling behind the march OF progress there
isn't one man elected on the democratic
ticket who wouldn't be thankful to those
who prepared the handful, or to any body
else, who would devise scheme to stop it
and start an advance movement. The
handful must have been prepared with an
intent to deceive, or by those who were ut
terly ignorant OF what they were writing
about.